1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to office partition systems, and more particularly, to a movable office panel system including panels which extend between the floor and the ceiling of an office space.
2. Description of the Related Art
Floor-to-ceiling office panel systems typically include individual panel units associated with the existing permanent walls of an office space, the panel units extending between the floor and the ceiling of the office space and dividing same into multiple rooms, such as individual offices, conference rooms, and the like. Typically, such panel systems are custom designed and manufactured for a particular office space according to a predetermined office floor plan, and are installed in a relatively permanent manner within the office space. Therefore, such panel systems tend to be rather costly and difficult to install, and often cannot be relocated if modifications to the office floor plan are desired.
For example, existing panel systems typically include heavy, rigid frames made from frame members which are cut to a pre-measured length and permanently welded to one another. Additionally, the panel frames typically include a large number of additional components for attaching the panel frames to one another, and also for attaching the panel frames to the floor and to the ceiling of the office space. Typically, such components are specifically designed for a particular use, or for a specific type of panel-to-panel connection, such as a T-, L-, or X-type connection, and may only be used for such specific connection or other specialized use. The large amount of such parts increases both the cost and the difficulty of manufacturing and installing existing floor-to-ceiling panel systems.
As a result of the complexity of the design of existing floor-to-ceiling wall panel systems, the installation, modification, and removal of same typically require trained and experienced work crews, such that modifications to the configuration of the panel system, to the extent that any such modifications are allowed by the design of the system, cannot easily be made.
What is needed is a floor-to-ceiling wall panel system which is an improvement over the foregoing; specifically, a floor-to-ceiling wall panel system which includes a minimal number of components, is easy to install and easy to modify after installation, and which can accommodate existing modular office components.